Admiralty Commons^™

Admiralty - Exclusive Coverage By Longshoremen's And Harbor Workers' Act Of Railway Employer's Liability To Employee For Accident On Car Float, Richard B. Barnett S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, a freight brakeman employed by petitioning railroad at its Jersey City yards, was injured while releasing the hand brakes on a freight car which was being pulled off a car float docked in navigable waters. He brought suit under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, alleging that his injury was caused by a faulty brake mechanism maintained in violation of the Safety Appliance Acts. The suit was dismissed in the district court on the ground that the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Act applied exclusively, because the injury occurred on navigable waters. The court of appeals reversed, holding that this act …

Admiralty - Right To Jury Trial In Certain Cases On Great Lakes - Maintenance And Cure Not Contract Or Tort Matter, Richard B. Barnett S.Ed..

Michigan Law Review

Libelant brought an action for maintenance and cure on the admiralty side of a federal district court in Illinois. He requested a jury trial, relying on the Act of February 20, 1845, which provides that in certain admiralty and maritime cases arising on the Great Lakes relating to any matter of contract or tort, trial shall be by jury on the demand of either party. The trial court heard the case without a jury and dismissed the libel on the merits. The court of appeals held, on appeal, that maintenance and cure was a matter of ancient and established …

Federal Procedure - The Erie R. Co. V. Tompkins Rule And State Created Rights In Admiralty Jurisdiction, Charles B. Lester

William and Mary Review of Virginia Law

No abstract provided.

Admiralty-Unseaworthiness Of Vessel In Having Vicious Crew Member Aboard, Richard B. Barnett S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a seaman on board defendant's ship, went ashore on leave with the second cook. After returning to the ship, the two quarrelled and plaintiff knocked the cook down. The cook went to the galley and obtained a meat cleaver with which he struck plaintiff on the head, causing serious injury. Plaintiff brought suit against the ship owner for damages on the theory that in allowing a man of the cook's vicious proclivities to become a member of the crew, defendant failed to provide a "seaworthy" ship and that plaintiff had suffered injury as a result. Plaintiff appealed a verdict …

Admiralty-Validity Of "Born-To-Blame" Clause In Bill Of Lading, Richard B. Barnett S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner is owner of the S.S. Nathaniel Bacon which collided with the Esso Belgium damaging both ships. The cargo of the Bacon, owned by respondents, was also damaged. The collision was caused by the negligent navigation of employees of both ships. The bill of lading issued to respondents contained a "both-to-blame" clause requiring the cargo owners to indemnify the carrier for any cargo loss indirectly borne by the carrier. This action was brought to determine liability for the damages suffered in the collision. Held, on appeal, the ''both-to-blame" clause is invalid because of public policy prohibiting carriers from …

Federal Procedure-Change Of Venue-Congestion Of Docket As A Factor Affecting Transfer Under Section 1404(A), Peter Van Domelen S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to recover damages under the Jones Act for illness sustained while he was serving as a seaman on the defendant's steamship. The defendant moved to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) which provides: "For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought." Evidence introduced showed that …

Admiralty-Recovery For Negligent Invasion Of Contractural Interest In Use Of Ship, Duncan Noble S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A fishing vessel just beginning a voyage was negligently struck by another ship and laid up for a period of time for repairs. The crew were to have been compensated on the so-called "lay plan," 32% of the gross catch going to the jointly-owned vessel and gear, and 68% being split equally among the crew of ten, which included one of the joint owners. On a libel filed originally by seven of the crew members, but later joined by both owners and the remaining two of the crew, the trial court allowed recovery of the cost of repairs to the …

The Exclusive Admiralty Jurisdiction, W. T. Beeks, Gordon W. Moss

Washington Law Review

In Cline v. Price the owners of a minority interest in a fishing vessel, being dissatisfied with the use to which it was being put, brought suit in Superior Court against the majority owners. The action prayed the appointment of a receiver, an accounting, and a partition of the vessel by sale and distribution of the proceeds. A demurrer was sustained by the lower court and affirmed by the Supreme Court. The ground assigned was that the suit, essentially one for partition, was exclusively within the admiralty jurisdiction of the United States, and the state courts have no jurisdiction to …

Admiralty-Duration Of Duty To Provide Maintenance And Cure, R. B. Barnett

Michigan Law Review

Libelant, while employed as engineer on a vessel operated by the United States, suffered a heart attack. He was paid maintenance and cure from May 31, 1946, when he was discharged from the hospital, until May 26, 1947. This action was brought to recover maintenance and cure from that date until March 25, 1951, when he returned to work, less two periods during which he had been employed for 60 and 93 days. Since April 1947, libelant had received treatment consisting of sedatives and medications designed to relieve chest pains and other discomforts. It was acknowledged there had been little …

Admiralty—Contribution Denied In Non-Collision Case, Daniel T. Roach

Buffalo Law Review

Baccile v. Halcyon Lines, (187 F. 2d 403 3rd Cir. 1951).

Admiralty-Maintenance And Cure, Donald S. Leeper S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The recent decision of Warren v. United States marks another instance of the growing interest of the Supreme Court in the remedies given injured seamen. The right of the seaman to maintenance and cure can be found in the earliest formulations of a law of the sea and is present in our admiralty law today. The ancient terminology is still used but the tendency is to construe the language liberally in favor of the seaman.

This comment is intended as a short survey of the development of the remedy in this country as represented by the landmark cases. It will …

Admiralty-Conflict Of Laws-Erie R. R. Co. V. Tompkins Distinguished In Maritime Matters, Thomas Hartwell S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a resident of Massachusetts, brought suit in the law side of the federal district court in Massachusetts for injuries sustained as a passenger aboard defendant's ship while it was docked in Sweden. Defendant, a Swedish corporation, defended on the ground that a contract stipulation as expressed on the back of plaintiff's ticket relieved it of liability. The ticket had been purchased in Sweden. The lower court, citing only American authorities, held that the. effect of the contract provision was to relieve defendant. On appeal, held, remanded. The cause of action asserted is a maritime tort; hence the substantive …

Admiralty-Injury To Longshoreman Working Ashore By Unseaworthiness Of The Vessel, Jean Engstrom S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, employed by an independent contractor to lade defendant's ship, was injured by a "pontoon" hatch cover which fell on his foot while he was working on the dock beside the ship. The court below found that defendant was not negligent, but that the ship was unseaworthy and that its unseaworthiness caused plaintiff's injury. Held, judgment for plaintiff affirmed. Breach of the warranty of seaworthiness is a tort arising out of a maritime status or relation and is therefore cognizable by maritime law whether occurring at sea or on land; a longshoreman employed by an independent contractor to lade a …

Book Reviews, W. Barton Leach, Joe Tussman, Charles O. Gregory, Charles Fahy, John C. O'Byrne Jr., Joseph Curtis, Charles Fairman, Ralph R. Neuhoff, Joseph Hawley Murphy, Charles L. Black Jr., Roscoe L. Barrow, John Hanna

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Restitution-Constructive Trust On Recission For Fraud Will Not Displace Lien For Repairs On Vessel, William H. Yager

Michigan Law Review

The Maryland Dry Dock Company sued to enforce its statutory maritime lien for converting a cargo vessel owned by the Republic Steamship Corporation into a passenger ship, and the International Refugee Organization contested the action on the ground that the money used to purchase the vessel was obtained by Republic from IRO by fraud. IRO argued that Republic did not have authority to bind the vessel because the vessel was impressed with a constructive trust in IRO's favor, and that if Republic did have authority the trust took preference over the lien. Held, a constructive trust on rescission for …

Eminent Domain-Evaluation Of Merchant Ships Requisitioned By Government Under War Emergency Powers [United States V. Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Nay. Co., U. S. Sup. Ct. 1949].

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Law-Jurisdiction-Application Of United States Seaman's Laws To Foreign Seamen On Foreign Vessels, Philip Smullin

Michigan Law Review

Libelants, eleven Greek seamen, signed a contract in the United States for a voyage from this country to Spain on a Greek vessel. They were discharged when the ship reached Barcelona. The shipowners made advance payments to these seamen, as they had in the past, and deducted such payments when settlements were made in the United States at the end of the voyage, a practice contrary to a federal statute. Prior to libelants' return to the United States from Spain, where they had been properly discharged, suit was instituted in their behalf for wages. Respondents paid into court a sum …

Admiralty-Foreign Attachment-Jurisdiction Of Court Defeated By Fraudulent Transfer, Paul E. Anderson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Respondent, a Colombian corporation, contracted with libelant to transport a cargo of rice in its vessel, the Cali. On January 17, 1948, the Cali was wrecked and most of the rice lost. During the month of February the corporation, Compania Colombiana del Caribe, was formed under Colombian law, and on February 25, 1948, respondent's only other vessel, the Alacran (renamed the Caribe) was transferred to it. On March 7, 1948, libelants brought a libel in personam against respondent in the Canal Zone district court and had the court issue a foreign attachment on the Caribe, then steaming …

International Law-Prize Law-Seizure Of Port As Effecting Capture Of Ships In Port, David D. Ring S. Ed.

Michigan Law Review

When the Italian port of Tripoli was captured by the British in January, 1943, two privately owned Italian vessels were lying aground in the harbor. Though the Italian armistice was signed in September, 1943, and British naval authorities early in 1944 ordered the seizure in prize of all salvable vessels, nothing was done with respect to these vessels until February 3, 1947. At that time they were placed under the jurisdiction of the Prize Court of England. On February 10, 1947, the Treaty of Peace with Italy was signed and became effective on September 15, 1947. By act of Parliament, …

Historic Origins Of Admiralty Jurisdiction In England, Lionel H. Laing

Michigan Law Review

The process of the common law courts when resorted to by foreigners appears to have failed entirely to give redress. Arbitration and other treaties were tried without satisfaction. Finally, in 1337, Edward III found himself obliged to pay out of his own pocket for spoils committed upon Flemish, Genoese and Venetian merchants by his own subjects. This was no international gesture, for it was dictated by necessity, since the English monarch, engaged in a struggle with France, wished to retain the aid of his allies. It thus became urgent to suppress piracy, which was the plague of the Channel.

Anteproyecto De Ley De Fomento Y Defensa De Marina Mercante Nacional, República De Cuba. Senado.

Mario Diaz Cruz Pamphlets

Preparado por la Comisión de Estudios sobre Fomento y Defensa de la Marina Mercante. Marzo, 1945.

Claim For Salvage Award By Member Of Crew Of Liberty Ship - Drevas V. United States, War Shipping Administration, United States Maritime Service

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Workmen's Compensation - Admiralty Jurisdiction, Arthur B. Lathrop

Michigan Law Review

The deceased, a structural steelworker, was employed to dismantle an abandoned drawbridge which spanned a navigable river. At the time of the accident, he was examining steel which had been cut from the bridge and lowered into a barge used to haul it to the storage point and from this barge "he either fell or was knocked into the river." The company which employed him was a contributor to the Washington Compensation Fund, a compulsory act for employers engaged in the type of work for which the deceased had been employed. In this proceeding the widow appealed on writ of …

Admiralty - Actions Against Shipowners For Loss Of Cargo - Burden Of Proof Of Seaworthiness, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A recent decision of the United States Supreme Court has laid to rest a number of complex problems involved in allocating the burden of proving seaworthiness between shipowners and injured cargo owners. While these general problems are by no means peculiar to maritime law, one plausible explanation for their unusual importance here might be found in the inherent difficulty which confronts the fact-finder when he attempts to accumulate information regarding accidents at sea. Fathoms of water may separate him from his evidence, and even where the source of injury is more accessible, the complex science of navigation and ship construction …

Labor Law - Seamen - Reinstatement Of Sit-Down Strikers, David N. Mills

Michigan Law Review

While a ship whose home port was Philadelphia was at dock in the port of Houston, unlicensed seamen commenced a strike for union recognition and boarding passes for union delegates. The strikers did not take possession of the ship but remained on the poop-deck and refused to obey all orders. They were never requested to leave. Sufficient steam was maintained for the operation of all the ship's sanitary and safety appliances, and the vessel was never in danger. When upon the ship's return to Philadelphia the steamship company discharged five of the seamen for participating in the strike, the National …

Admiralty - Uniformity Rule, William C. Whitehead

Michigan Law Review

From the words of the Federal Constitution the federal courts have spelled out the rule that maritime matters shall be governed by a uniform set of laws. These laws consist of the general maritime law at the adoption of the Constitution plus regulations subsequently promulgated by Congress. The decisions which have outlined the "uniformity rule" have concerned themselves with admiralty's interrelationship with interstate commerce. A recent application of the rule suggests another problem which uniformity is designed to circumvent--the difficulty of enforcing local rules against subjects on navigable waters. The federal courts have not always been precise in their application …

Admiralty - Workmen's Compensation - Longshoremen's Act Status Of Worker On Vessel Withdrawn From Navigation But Moving On Navigable Waters, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and five others were hired to load a lake freighter with cargo for winter storage. They were hired by the day and none lived aboard the vessel, which had been out of commission for a year. Plaintiff assisted in towing the vessel to the elevator dock and worked on deck while the cargo was being loaded. While shifting the vessel along the dock, plaintiff's hand was crushed in a winch. Plaintiff brought an action at law under the Jones Act. Held, plaintiff is not a seaman within the terms of that act, nor "a member of a crew" …

International Law -- Anti-Smuggling Bill -- Jurisdiction On The High Seas, James H. Roberton

Michigan Law Review

The control which a littoral state may exercise over the adjacent sea has never been the subject of complete agreement among the nations of the world. Inability to agree and resulting confusion have arisen in many instances from a failure to distinguish between a claim of control over a definite strip of adjacent water, often spoken of as "territorial waters," analogous to the control exercised on land and a claim that, for the well-being of the littoral state, control for limited and specific purposes may be extended beyond these territorial waters. The most obvious example of this latter type of …

Admiralty - Right Of Seamen To Indemnity - Duty Of Shipowner To Warn And Instruct Inexperienced Seamen, James H. Roberton

Michigan Law Review

In the recent case of The State of Maryland, the United States Circuit Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit held that a seaman could recover indemnity against a vessel in an in rem proceeding in admiralty, for burns received when oil-burning equipment of the vessel exploded. The explosion occurred while the libellant was attempting to light the oil burner in the pit furnace beneath the boilers without having first opened the lower draft. It was a part of the libellant's duties to light the oil burner. He was inexperienced, and no one had instructed him as to the …

Admiralty-Jurisdiction Over Torts-Personal Injuries Caused By A Fall From Vessel To Dock

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a longshoreman, was employed by the defendant terminal company in unloading a vessel in a Great Lakes port. While working on the deck of the vessel he was struck by a swinging hoist, precipitated upon the wharf and injured. He sought compensation under the state workmen's compensation act, but the state supreme court vacated the commission's award on the ground that the federal law controlled. Held, by the United States Supreme Court, that the cause of action arose on the vessel where the blow was struck and was governed by the maritime law. Minnie v. Port Huron Terminal …